Stuck. .02 appreciated

[MobSled]

1. I tried finding a topic on this in the search box but nothing came up. I found a guy thats selling some bucket seats which are out of his 68 C10. He customized the brackets and sliders for his truck so the seats bolt down. I`m wondering if the seats will also bolt down to my 77 C10 floor aside of drilling new holes???

2. Also getting ready to lower my truck...again 1977 C10. At first I was going to do it the right way (spindles, lowering shocks, lowering springs) but then decided on just cutting my springs in the front and doing a flipkit in the back. I`m going for a 6/6 drop. Talked to my mechanic and hes charging me $300 for the complete job including the alignment. Now I`ve cut springs before on my friends cars and never had a problem with it, as in I know what I`m doing. On the other hand, I`ve never done a flipkit on a truck. How hard is it, time consuming etc... Would you guys recommend to take it to my mechanic and pick up a finished truck for 300 bucks or just do it myself on the weekend which will cost me $50 for the kit and $50 for the alignment???

In case some of you are wondering why i`m doing it this way (cutting springs instead of doing the whole job right)??? Not sure if I`m going to like driving a lowered truck. If I just cut the prings it would cost me about 40 bucks to raise it back up (oem springs from the junkyard). If I buy the spindles, shocks, lowering springs, I`ll be about 500 out of my pocket for all the parts. Not to mention I`ve done some of the research and found out that there is no downside to cutting the springs compared to spindles etc... besides the rough, stiff ride I`m already used to and love that kind of stiff suspension due to my previous cars.

Please do chime in and corerct me if I`m wrong in any field. Any opinion is greatly appreciated.

[Dapper Dan]

Hey I might not be on the same page with you, but are you saying you want to cut 6" out of your spring? From what I understand you shouldn't cut much more than one coil. Also a truck will ride a whole lot different lowered correctly than with springs cut too much. So it won't really give you a fair assesment of ride quality. But I am prob. not understanding correctly

[MobSled]

Originally Posted by Dapper Dan

Hey I might not be on the same page with you, but are you saying you want to cut 6" out of your spring? From what I understand you shouldn't cut much more than one coil. Also a truck will ride a whole lot different lowered correctly than with springs cut too much. So it won't really give you a fair assesment of ride quality. But I am prob. not understanding correctly

Well according to my mechanic which has been dealing with old school muscles since he can remember (60s Camaro SS which he built 15 years ago and its his daily driver), every coil you cut gives you a 2.5-3 inch drop so i figured I`d cut 2 coils which should bring me into the 5-6 inch lowering area.

I`ve talked to numerous people which have confirmed Cutting coils off a spring=stiff ride, more bounce. Spindles and lowering springs=smoother ride as in not as stiff. From what I understand 2 coils is the most amount you should cut from your springs.

[truckfan]

as far as the seats go, they wont fit w/o modifying the brackets. remember our 73-87 trucks have fuel tanks. 67-72 are flat floored.

i have put 88-98 seats in 73-87. they are alos flat floored. the mod is not that bad. it mostly relates to the tilt

[MobSled]

Originally Posted by truckfan

as far as the seats go, they wont fit w/o modifying the brackets. remember our 73-87 trucks have fuel tanks. 67-72 are flat floored.

i have put 88-98 seats in 73-87. they are alos flat floored. the mod is not that bad. it mostly relates to the tilt

Thankj you sir, you saved me a 100 mile round trip hehehe.

[68Timber]

If you cut 2 coils off the front you're probably going to be sitting on the bump-stops. I have 3" lowering springs on mine and the bump-stops only have a few inches of clearance and they do need to be replaced. I wouldn't try to get a 6" front drop cutting coils.

Like you said, it can be undone cheaply with replacement junkyard coils, but you will be undoing it.

[MobSled]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

If you cut 2 coils off the front you're probably going to be sitting on the bump-stops. I have 3" lowering springs on mine and the bump-stops only have a few inches of clearance and they do need to be replaced. I wouldn't try to get a 6" front drop cutting coils.

Like you said, it can be undone cheaply with replacement junkyard coils, but you will be undoing it.

What about getting 3inch lowering springs and cutting off one coil off those? Will that change anything or is it pretty much the same concept as cutting 2 coils of the OEM springs?

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by MobSled

What about getting 3inch lowering springs and cutting off one coil off those? Will that change anything or is it pretty much the same concept as cutting 2 coils of the OEM springs?

That's a different direction, but you'd get the same results. If I cut a coil off mine I'd be riding the bump-stops. You're going to need lowering spindles and springs to get 6".

[MobSled]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

That's a different direction, but you'd get the same results. If I cut a coil off mine I'd be riding the bump-stops. You're going to need lowering spindles and springs to get 6".

Ah damnit...didnt want to hear that hehehehe. What about getting aftermarket lower sitting or smaller bump stopps? Is there such thing? I`m pretty sure the OEM bump stopps are huge. I mean isnt that what you do when you go with a flipkit in the back, replace the OEM bump stopps with some aftermarket smaller bss hehehe.

[68Timber]

With my 3" lowering springs and factory bump-stops I'm already bottoming out on really rough road like a RR crossing. I could take a hacksaw and cut an inch off but I'm not going that route, it feels too much like a half-arsed solution. The bump-stops are tapered and thus somewhat progressive so I want to keep that. I need to find some lowered replacement bump-stops.

That's where I am now. If I were to cut one coil off my 3" lowering springs I'm pretty sure any bump-stops at all would hit and removing them completely would only assure some daily metal-to-metal contact.

Even if you can get the height you want from this route I seriously doubt you'd be happy with it.

[MobSled]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

With my 3" lowering springs and factory bump-stops I'm already bottoming out on really rough road like a RR crossing. I could take a hacksaw and cut an inch off but I'm not going that route, it feels too much like a half-arsed solution. The bump-stops are tapered and thus somewhat progressive so I want to keep that. I need to find some lowered replacement bump-stops.

That's where I am now. If I were to cut one coil off my 3" lowering springs I'm pretty sure any bump-stops at all would hit and removing them completely would only assure some daily metal-to-metal contact.

Even if you can get the height you want from this route I seriously doubt you'd be happy with it.

Really do appreciate all the info. I guess I just dont want to spend all that money on spindles, lowering coils etc when I know myself and probably just end up going a year from now or so with an air ride setup. I guess I`ll see what my mechanic says and I`ll go from there. Will keep you guys updated.

[68Timber]

This truck is the first I've lowered, the rest have been lifted. But lifted or lowered, you'll never regret doing it right.

[N2TRUX]

If you are thinking about air suspension down the road, here's my suggestion. Get a 2.5" or 3" spindle (I prefer 3" myself). Cut a single coil off your stock spring and see how it sets.
Depending on what size tire your running, you might get by with another half coil. I would check first before I cut it.

If you do go with bags at a later time, chunk the spring and install your bag. You already have the spindle in place so your good to go.

Flip kit in the rear is standard. Do a C-notch now, or do it later when you bag it. Your going to need it eventually.